Santa Clara University has named Dr. Charles Binkley as the Ethics Center’s new director of Bioethics.
As a surgeon, Dr. Binkley’s work focuses on professional autonomy, health care quality, and the ethical application and equitable distribution of biotechnology. He also has an interest in the medical humanities, particularly physician morality and human suffering as they are embodied in film and literature.
In his new role, Dr. Binkley is responsible for the vision, strategy, fundraising, and leadership of the Bioethics Program.
“Dr. Binkley’s extensive experience and deep passion for values-driven health care will be a valuable asset in the Ethic Center’s mission to help individuals and organizations make choices that respect and care for others, particularly in the depths of a global pandemic and facing a presidential election in which health care will be a key issue,” said Don Heider, executive director.
During his tenure as a surgeon at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco, Dr. Binkley served in roles including Chairman of the Medical Center Ethics Committee, President of the Professional Staff, and Chief of Inpatient Quality. He led the clinical ethics consultation service at the San Francisco Medical Center and contributed to ethics policy development and implementation on state and regional levels. He has been an invited speaker at medical centers and hospitals in the United States and internationally, and acted as an ethics consultant to the American Gastroenterological Association.
Dr. Binkley also served on the Committee on Ethical, Legal, and Judicial Affairs of the California Medical Association, as well as on the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Medical Society, and the program committee of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
His writings have appeared in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, Annals of Surgery, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Cancer Research, Verdict, Bioethics.net, and he is a regular contributor to KevinMD.com. Dr. Binkley is also the founder and principal of ProNobisHealth, a health and medical provider consulting firm.
After completing his undergraduate degree in Classics and Philosophy at St. Meinrad Seminary, Dr. Binkley attended Georgetown University School of Medicine, graduating magna cum laude. He completed his surgery residency at the University of Michigan, spending two years as an NIH-sponsored Gastrointestinal Surgery Fellow.